A well-known American Indian artist said police pointed a rifle at him after his dog pooped in his SUV and a woman mistook his cleanup efforts for a burglary. Painter Mateo Romero said the bizarre misunderstanding Monday landed him in handcuffs and in the back of a Santa Fe, N.M., patrol car. According to a police report, the officer pulled out a rifle and detained Romero after Maria Markus reported a burglary in progress at her home. Romero said he parked in the driveway to clean the mess after Han Solo, his Shih Tzu, relieved himself inside the SUV during a drive to his studio. But Markus spotted him in her driveway, boxed him in with her vehicle and called 911. "I tried to talk to her to explain," he said. "But she got all hysterical and I just backed away." "It appeared to be a misunderstanding," the police report said.

Military Exercise

Jumping at chance to honor general

The jumping jack is about to become Missouri's official state exercise. Gov. Jay Nixon signed the legislation Thursday. The jumping jack was championed by students at Pershing Elementary School in St. Joseph to honor Gen. John J. Pershing, who led U.S. forces during World War I. He's credited with inventing the jumping jack as a training drill for cadets when he taught at West Point in the late 1800s.

scrambled egg

Life imitates nursery rhyme

The nursery rhyme proved right: Humpty Dumpty couldn't be put together again. Last weekend, two men planning a photograph jumped on the wall at a tourist attraction near Salem, Ore., where the statue of rebar, cement, sand and plaster sat for 40 years. And, you know how it goes: Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Enchanted Forest owner Roger Tofte says Humpty was in too many pieces to fix, but the two men offered to pay for a new one. Tofte, a sculptor, says it will take a month to build.